Excerpts taken from The Wayfarer’s Pocket Atlas, second edition, by ▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓ ▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓.

The nation of Acerbis is governed primarily from its capital, a city-state known as Rex, located in the northernmost area of the country (see fig. 1). Aside from those with immediate and pressing business in the city, no one may enter and no one may leave, for the safety of the royal family. The residents of Rex include the royal family, their servants, the members of the Senate, their families and servants, and the chancellor of the Institute - the one person who, due to their inherent duties outside of the city, is allowed to enter and leave at will.

Though Rex is the legislative center of the city, it is shut off to tourists. Unless the holder of this book would like to commit a crime, which the writer would humbly offer advice against, it does not make for a good vacation spot. However, brave reader, do not fear - there are many other cities within our own fair nation that could prove a lovely place to visit.

The majority of this chapter will be focused on one such city. Omen, located in the Semper region, in the southeast, is a large, industrialized city, officially classified as an Urbs Maxima, as it is home to its own air-port and central power grid. Omen is large enough that trains, such as those used in the countryside, are installed in the city, as it would be futile to attempt to walk from one end of the city to the other! This city is known as a center of learning, as Catacumba - the main branch of the Institute - is located here! In general, this city harbors many inventors and creatives, spurred on by funding from the Vigenere barony.

Moreso than many other industrialized cities, Omen is home to various arts. The most notorious artistic venue in this city is the Theatre Obscura, a national attraction and a major source of tourism. Run by former silver-screen acting legend Tobias Fitzroy, these days it both screens films and puts on various performances, from music to theatre. Similarly prolific, Phineas Sterling’s Cabinet of Marvels, funded by both the Vigenere barony and Gilbert Banks of the Aurum Lux line of department stores, houses the greatest works of art which Acerbis has to offer, holding regular, stunning exhibitions with artists from all over the world lining up to participate.

Of course, the presence of the Catacumba libraries and attached branch of the Institute is also a major boon to Omen. According to the ▓▓▓▓ census, Omenites are, on average, more highly educated than any other region of the country, save Rex itself. Higher education is regularly available here, and in particular, those who wish to study Artifice need only pass the gruelling written and practical exams required to join the Institute’s student body, without worrying about other barriers to entry. Many major intellectuals in the field of artifice live and study in Omen, including the Chancellor, Persephone Cross, herself, as well as others.

One thing of note to anyone who visits this city is that, though the artifice practiced here furthers the needs and development of our beloved nation, there are those who would use it for evil. Omen combats its unusually high crime rate, bolstered by secret societies feuding over new discoveries in artifice and even petty thieves having access to the basics of the art, with use of Automata Lex - automatons specifically created for the constabulary, which prowl the streets, keeping a watchful eye on things for the safety of our citizens. They can be quite unsettling to a newcomer, but I assure you, dear reader, that they are there for your safety!

And even something potentially unsettling, such as the Automata Lex, can be beautiful. Omen is underneath the Umbra Maximus, and thus lit by street-lamps even during the day. It is often rainy and windy, and zeppelins are commonly seen overhead. It may not be everyone’s cup of tea, but I, personally, find it beautiful, and I think some readers might as well.

Llygredyg is a Acerbian territory located to the west. The Umbra Maximus does not extend to its limits, leaving the entirety of the region bright and sunlit. Most of Llygredyg remains rural, but there is little variation in wealth, and very few are impoverished.

As the region has not advanced as far as Acerbis proper in technology, and remains primarily agricultural, many of its people cling to outdated ideas. Reverenti are common here, as are, to a lesser extent M’amand settlers. Knacklessness is far more common here than it is basically anywhere else, and suppressing one’s knack is even more common than elsewhere, with the exception of the rare individual fortunate enough to be properly trained in artifice - these will generally move to Acerbis after their graduation from school.

Curiously, Llygredyg is home to some rather impressive schools. A surprising amount of noble’s children and potential future intellectuals from Rex, are, in fact, educated in Llygredyg. Because of this, some dialects of Llygredish are seen as very chic and refined in Omen. None of these tend to be dialects people born in the country would ever speak. Coriolanus Lawson, the current Head Justice, was born here, and both of his children are undergoing their schooling here as well.

Llygredyg is considered quite welcoming, and the people very kind. Since its conquest, Llygredyg has not participated in any military battles, and its people enjoy peace. However, there is very little urban to be found in this nation, aside from the few exceptions, such as the old capital of Citrea Viridia - a visitor from Acerbis’ metropolitan centers might find the silence quite unsettling indeed!

The cold land of Zemlya, to the northeast, is frigid and frozen. Agriculture cannot flourish here - thus, the people of Zemlya subsist primarily off of hunting the Chudovishe which lurk at the very north of the nation’s border, subsisting off of their putrid flesh and wearing their skin. This may sound horrible, but I assure you it is far worse than it sounds.

Zemlyan society is spread out into small hunter communities, and generally very unwelcoming to foreigners. However, if one were to somehow stumble into this nation, they would find the people cold, warlike, and determined to survive at any cost. Though this might paint an unfavorable picture of them, the people of Zemlya are actually deeply empathetic - they have strong senses of community, which they need to stay alive. A large proportion of Zemlyans are partially or fully Aogiya, and the two groups have a close relationship, likely due to the nation’s closeness to the Border Wilds.

Zemlyans practice their own unique form of artifice, similar to the Aogiya strain but not quite comparable. A lot of it is, predictably, focused around survival and battle, and, very uniquely, Zemlyan artifice can affect objects without directly touching them.

Many Zemlyans have migrated to Llygredyg or Al-Mushriq, with a smaller number living in Lucielle or Acerbis proper. Generally, they have a hard time adjusting to our culture, which seems somehow far more cutthroat than theirs.

To the west, in the hallowed halls of the University of Al-Mushriq, the leading scholars debate theories of artifice in front of thousands of eager students. Though Acerbis is proud of our knowledge of Artifice, Al-Mushriq not only invented the art - it is far closer than we will ever be to perfecting it.

A nation of scholars, Al-Mushriq is home to a massive university, with the city surrounding it being filled with all of the latest advances in artifice. One who visits this nation may find themself completely overwhelmed - indeed, some of the things the Al-Mushrites have created boggle the mind. The universities there teach such entirely foreign subjects as spectrobiology, cryptochemistry, and applied phlebotinology - things about which information is scarce outside of Al-Mushriq. Thankfully, they are a staunch ally of Acerbis’, and the wealthy, important students from Rex mentioned in an earlier chapter generally complete their higher education here, once their basic schooling in Llygredyg is completed.

Wealthy from the influx of foreign-born students who wish to study in this most illustrious of settings, the Al-Mushrite capital of Eulim is a city that might as well be paved in gold. Any visitor will find beautiful art, which has been allowed to flourish, but what they might also notice is a lack of crime - something that will come as very strange to any Omenite reading this, I’m sure. In a nation where education is valued so highly, very few have any reason to waste their time on things such as petty theft or arson.

Lucielle is a shining nation, filled with vanity and excess. Wealthy, and technologically comparable to Acerbis, the people of Lucielle live easy, with massive cities filled with luxury to the very brim. What a wonderful life they must lead! Unfortunately for those of us who might want to join in this lifestyle, Lucielle’s borders remain almost completely closed to those who would wish to live there - but one can certainly visit!

A visitor to Lucielle might wish to sit by the banks of the River Etoile, eating gourmet pastries and holding in their arms shopping bags full of luxury clothing. If that sounds like something you might enjoy, dear reader, then you would be wise to keep a bookmark on this page - for the chapter following this will tell you everything you need to know to find your way around this beautiful nation.

Guo Ji Bei, located in the very north, is a country primarily characterized by its wealth. Centuries of trading with the other nations have left the Beians extremely rich, and thus the nation has spent exceptional time on the pursuit of art and self-betterment. Most well-off Beians will study in Llygredyg and Al-Mushriq, just as Acerbians do, but even the poorest will teach themselves to read from a young age.

The art of the nation is beyond exquisite. Particularly known for pottery and weaving, Beians also create some of the best paintings and sculptures in the world, and some of the best food, as well. It’s simply a very pleasant place to visit, if one has coin to spare.

However, they do have a problem that us Acerbians may be more than familiar with. In Guo Ji Be, poverty is a real and pressing issues, and the upper classes tend to have little, if any, sympathy for the impoverished citizens - who are often forced to turn to crime in alarming numbers.

Kude Lee, to the southeast, is somewhat shrouded in mystery, as they refused entry to most who wished to write about them - including myself. Their nation is constructed with a fascinating architecture - as opposed to the tall brick and wood buildings of Acerbis, the gilded spires of Al-Mushriq, and the skyscrapers of Lucielle, Kude Lee’s buildings vary in height and size, made of an unrecognizable material, and beautifully painted in orange, purple, and blue.

The few who have left Kude Lee for other nations have described it as very affluent and their lives as comfortable. Their reason for leaving, then, is generally that they lack a trait almost universally present among the Kudeians - they don’t have the knack. Though they are loathe to reveal much about their country, those I have interviewed have indicated that the nation is primarily run using artifice, and that their techniques would be unrecognizable to any Acerbian or Luciellite - but that they are of the same potency, if not more powerful.

A large population of Kudeians is native to Acerbis, in particular, though there are scattered pockets throughout other nations. Each nation has its own subculture of Kudeians who were living abroad before the nation retreated from the public eye, who for one reason or another did not return to their nation of origin.

Why all the secrecy? Well, dear reader, that, too, I have been given insight into by my contacts. Supposedly, the Kudeians saw the wars, Rex spreading outwards to conquer the lands we now call Acerbis and Llygredyg, and the potential of further spreading, and decided that it would be best to simply cut off communications. Back in the day, when Acerbis and Lucielle were still feuding over land, Kude Lee was even an active participant in trade and commerce. Their withdrawal very well might have harmed the technological and economic advances of the rest of the world, but perhaps the writer can understand why they would not want to deal with the selfish conflict being perpetuated at the time.

Not, of course, that our fair nation has ever behaved in a selfish or negative manner. Do not mistake my criticism of the Luciellites for treason, theoretical government employee reading this.

The Border Wilds are a long stretch of forests, fields, and mountains, enclosing our world from all sides. Those airships which have attempted to pass the mountains have never been heard from again. As far as we are concerned, this is the end of the world.

The wilds themselves are expansive and beautiful, but impossible to stay in long - daemons roam them, hunting. What is a daemon, you ask? Dear, sweet, innocent, foolish reader, let us both pray that you never have to learn the answer to that question. Humanity is driven by natural curiosity and fear of unknown, but some things are simply best left in the realm of wondering. Trust your humble author just this once.

The Border Wilds are a long stretch of forests, fields, and mountains, enclosing our world from all sides. Those airships which have attempted to pass the mountains have never been heard from again. As far as we are concerned, this is the end of the world.

The wilds themselves are expansive and beautiful, but impossible to stay in long - Daemons roam them, hunting. The land is less than conducive to proper agriculture, and thus, the residents have dealt with the threat of the Daemons in their own way, living a nomadic lifestyle which might seem alien to anyone from less hostile places.

The M’amand, known commonly and perhaps derogatively as ‘shepherds’, conversely, have developed a rather remarkable lifestyle. Simply put, they are herders, harnessing Daemons for their own use. The Daemons they use have been trained over centuries not to harm them, but will defend them from the other, more hostile Daemons roaming the landscape. Though they, like any Acerbian Reverenti, believe in a Divine, they do not base their lifestyle off of worship of this Divine. Instead, they have a strong philosophy of treasuring life as it happens, and are known to have strongly-knit family groups which travel together.

Many M’amand live outside of the Border Wilds, having migrated to safer pastures entirely. Lucille, Zemlya, and Lygedyg have high populations, in particular. Both Reverenti and the average Acerbian tend to be quite hostile to them. In addition, they find it hard to find homes in other nations, mostly because, inexplicably, no M’amand has ever manifested the Knack - something science is still attempting to parse.

Overall, the Border Wilds probably aren’t a good place to visit, but that’s just this author’s take. Feel free to prove me wrong, as with any of these.

A final note to my dear readers - though travel seems thrilling, perhaps it is sometimes best to stay at home. If you do travel: make sure to keep your eyes on the shadows, lest something move without warning. Keep this book handy and nearby. If you would like, wear it in your chest pocket - you never know when it might be useful for intercepting a bullet.

Be careful. Do not draw needless attention to yourself. Exercise the utmost care, always. Some secrets are best left that way. Never be careless. Remember my advice. Above all, I hope that even one of you will find something of my words that will help you in a far darker hour. Do not attempt to contact me - if all goes well I will be long-gone, and if not, it will only bring attention to the both of us.

Happy travels!